George Lucas Plans to Donate Portion of Disney Sale Proceeds to Education

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The sole owner of Lucasfilm, George Lucas plans to donate a sizeable portion of his windfall from the $4B sale to Disney to promote education

George Lucas plans to put a sizable portion of his windfall from the $4 billion sale of his Lucasfilm to Disney into a foundation supporting education, Lucasfilm said in a statement Wednesday.

Lucas is currently the chairman of Edutopia, part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Lucas could put money into the foundation or create a new foundation funded from the sale. In 2006, the George Lucas Educational Foundation donated $175 million to the filmmaker's alma mater USC.

“For 41 years, the majority of my time and money has been put into the company,” the 68-year-old Lucas said in a statement Wednesday. “As I start a new chapter in my life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity to devote more time and resources to philanthropy.”

In 2010, Lucas signed the Warren Buffet and Bill Gates Giving Pledge, which commits participants "to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death."

In a statement with that 2010 pledge, he made it clear that promoting education was a priority.

"I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future — and the first step begins with the social, emotional and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt — as educators, storytellers and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so."